Sri Lanka: “Don’t Abuse the Displaced”

[Human Rights Watch]

“It is time for concerned governments like Japan, India, and the US to ensure that President Mahinda Rajapakse’s government and the Tamil Tigers allow the victims of this conflict to live with justice and dignity. Both sides should agree to a humanitarian corridor and otherwise respect the laws of war.” Our latest research shows that up to two thousand civilians have been killed by the Sri Lankan army and the Tamil Tigers since early January in the most recent round of fighting. We got reports of many civilian deaths, which have occurred in areas that the Sri Lankan government has declared to be “safe zones”, where the Sri Lankan army has repeatedly and indiscriminately shelled. Hospitals have been frequently hit.